Author: MMA Betting

UFC Middleweight Title Bout:  Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva

Odds:  ( -170 Silva / +140 Weidman )

Betting Pick:  Weidman

Bet on this fight at Bovada

The main event of UFC 168 features one of the sport’s most hotly-anticipated rematches. For years, Anderson Silva was the sport’s #1 pound for pound star and had a death grip on the Middleweight title. Heading into his title bout with Chris Weidman, he was obviously feeling supremely confident. From the very beginning of the fight, he was showboating and dancing around, and Weidman made him pay for it by planting him with strikes. Now, humbled by the defeat, Silva will attempt to regain his title from the new champion. Can Weidman beat a focused, serious, Silva? Or will “The Spider” prove that his lone UFC loss was nothing but a fluke?

Anderson Silva is the sport’s most superlative striker. No one in the history of MMA has Silva’s mix of speed, power, footwork, accuracy, technique, and creativity. He is a beast in the clinch and he can hurt opponents with all four limbs at any range. The only two knocks against Silva are that he tends to be unmotivated for what he considers lesser fights and that his takedown defense is suspect. Considering the circumstances of this fight, I don’t think lack of motivation is going to be an issue, but takedown defense very well might. Weidman is a dangerous wrestler with a great ground game, and Silva is going to have to avoid getting taken down if he wants his belt back.

Chris Weidman is without a doubt the most exciting young Middleweight in the UFC. A solid striker, wrestler, and grappler, Weidman represents the complete package. While it’s hard to draw solid conclusions from his first win over Silva, there is no doubt whatsoever that Weidman represents the stiffest challenge in the world at 185 pounds. I think the key for Weidman, who has a more versatile skillset than Silva, is not to get overconfident based on his knockout last time. If he stands with Silva the entire fight, he might still win, but he would be putting himself in needless danger. His best bet is to throw his punches when he has an opening and use his takedowns to control the fight.

I think it’s clear that this fight won’t play out the way the last one did, but I still think the matchup favors Weidman. Silva is undeniably the more versatile striker, but Weidman is more than equipped to capitalize on any mistakes. Weidman is by far the better wrestler and ground fighter, and if he can keep himself from getting knocked out, I think he should be able to control Silva well enough to defend his title by unanimous decision.

Prediction:  Chris Weidman by Unanimous Decision.

I know this is not MMA but I’m a big college football fan and will be attending the BCS Championship game in January. I plan on wagering so I figured Id write a little something.

Normally when you’re talking about the last of anything it is a sad moment. Although, I believe we have found an exception. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not one of the many serious BCS haters because I believe that a few times the BCS has given us who I believe are the best two teams in College Football fighting for the Crystal. As a fan though we don’t want the best two teams sometimes, we want every time. That being said I’m happy to say that in its final year the BCS got it right. Auburn and Florida State are the two best teams in the country. I’m excited to say that this may be the best game we’ve seen since Texas-USC and what a coincidence that it’ll be played in the same stadium. Get ready; January 6th is only right around the corner and the BCS National Championship game vying to be a serious barnburner.

Lets begin with the number one team in the country, Florida State. Other than its slight hiccup at Boston College (Still won the game), FSU has been seriously dominant on both sides of the ball. This season it has outscored its opponents 689-139 at the same time defeating their four AP-Top25 ranked opponents by a score of 200-35. Now lets talk about the obvious, Jameis Winston. Taking the College Football world by storm would be an understatement. Jameis by the end of the year looked like he was a senior that was making plays in his sleep. Jameis completed nearly 68% of his passes and threw for just over 3,800 yards. He threw for 38 touchdowns and ran four in himself. Jameis won the 2013 Heisman trophy and became the second freshman (2012 Winner Johnny Manziel was first) and the youngest ever to win the award. The reason I want to talk about Jameis is because Auburn in 2013 struggled with high-profile quarterbacks. Now, struggled is a relevant term due to Auburn finding a way to win those games but some Auburn fans didn’t leave the stadium with much of their fingernails left. In the “ending of the century” Iron Bowl game against Alabama, AJ McCarron was able to pick part the Tiger defense in times the Tigers needed a stop. The Tiger defense also gave up 41 points to Johnny Manziel’s Aggies and 38 points to Aaron Murrays Bulldogs. With the right preparation Jameis can once again amaze us with his young talent and have immense success on the Auburn Tiger defense.

Now the number two-ranked team in the country, the Auburn Tigers. What the Tigers have done this season is nothing short of remarkable. Here is a team that went from National Champions then within two short years hit serious rock bottom and one year later back to glory. Before we start talking about how, lets talk about whom. Gus Malzahn had been the Tiger’s saving grace this season. His coaching has done something behind the curtains to first convince top ranked prospects to still come to Auburn after finishing last in the SEC and then make them believe no one could beat them. It has been an unbelievable journey for the Tigers this year and it’s not quite over yet. Lets talk about the season and what the Tigers have gone through. Lets all remember how the season began against Washington State. I remember watching that game and thinking after the Tigers nearly lost, here comes the same dismal Auburn Tigers for another year. The next few weeks weren’t that pretty either, with a near victory against Mississippi State and then an away loss at LSU. At that point I don’t believe one person away from Auburn, Alabama thought we had a National Championship team on our hands but obviously we were wrong. A win over #24 ranked Ole Miss team who was thought to be the up and coming team in the SEC seemed to be the beginning of something special. Now comes the game at Kyle Field against Texas A&M which many thought could be a game Johnny Football could pad his stats and make a serious case for the Heisman. The Tigers in a thriller pulled out an astonishing victory and never looked back. With wins over Arkansas, Tennessee, #1 Alabama, and #5 Missouri the Auburn Tigers have solidified themselves as the second best team in the country and are much deserving to be playing in the BCS National Championship game. Now, lets talk about Tre Mason. Tre has been on the cusp of greatness ever since he arrived at Auburn but hasn’t had the surrounding pieces to display his true talents. His speed alone has sliced defenses and has made some defensive coordinators quite disgruntled. Although it was quite recent, lets not forget about we he did in the SEC Championship game rushing for 304 yards breaking a SEC Championship game record by over 100 yards. The Tigers will need Tre Mason and everyone else to be at there finest if they want to be crowned BCS National Champions.

Lets conclude this by laying all of the cards on the table. We have two coaches that are young and are head coaching in their first BCS National Championship game. One, Jimbo Fisher, was fortunate enough to stand along side Bobby Bowden for a number of years and the other Gus Malzahn was able to coach Cam Newton to a Heisman and BCS National Championship over Oregon. Next, you have Jameis Winston and Tre Mason. First, Jameis Winston was the 2013 Heisman trophy winner and the other (Tre Mason) watched in New York City Jameis Winston receive the Heisman trophy as a candidate himself. Finally you have the venue, the Rose Bowl. Home of what I believe was the greatest game ever played (2005 BCS National Championship Game Texas vs.USC) and where history is bound to be made. This might not come with the hype of say Alabama vs. Notre Dame or Alabama vs. Oregon but it’s sure to please us just as much. With the Line at Auburn +9, my new favorite animal just became the dog.

Auburn vs. Florida State Odds

Bovada.Iv Odds

• Aubrurn  +8.5 (-115)
• FSU          +8.5 (105)

Betonline.com Odds

• Auburn  +9  (-110)
• FSU        -9  (-110)
• Auburn  (+250)
• FSU        (-300)
• Over 67    (-110)
• Under 67  (-110)